Munich puts an end to the exclusive use of Linux in City Administration

Since the Public Administration in Munich began using Linux in 2003, the city has been set as an example to follow by supporters of this operating system and free software. But not everything that glitters is gold, since the problems of compatibility and the complexity of the configuration that is used are going to make the proprietary software return to make an appearance in the town hall.

Precisely, because there were applications that could only run on Windows, the city had to keep this operating system on some computers. Now, this operating system will be installed in 29,000 more equipment from 2020, although before they will launch a pilot project in which they will install Office 2016 in virtual machines.

The mayor himself, Dieter Reiter, has indicated that having two operating systems in the municipal environment is not an economic solution, as well as that there have been complaints about the performance of the current system. In addition, there have been internal disputes over whether returning to Windows was the solution, something that only a minority of the staff endorsed.

The cost of deployment is estimated at 49.3 million euros, a remarkable figure, thus putting an end to what was an important public administration that was practically only with Linux.

Via